FN Dish

Tables for One, Waffle Hybrids and a Doughnut Worker Takes Aim at Receipts

The Singles Scene: Solo diners need not bother to ask for a table for one at Eenmaal, a new pop-up restaurant in Amsterdam. That's because the sparsely decorated eatery features only tables for one — the better to relieve the social stigma of the solitary eater. The restaurant has no Wi-Fi, so diners can focus on their meals (four courses, organic and locally sourced, $48, including drink), though magazine and book reading is encouraged. "I wanted to show that a moment of disconnection, by eating out alone, sitting alone, can be attractive, especially in our hyperconnected society," owner Marina van Goor
told Bloomberg Businessweek. Plans are underway to expand later this year to cities including London, Berlin and the United States. [
Bloomberg Businessweek]

Hybrid Watch: Two examples may be one shy of an official trend, but sweeping that aside, the next generation of hybrid foods appears to be all about the waffle. Dominique Ansel has just
unveiled his new Waffogato, a dessert he describes
on Instagram as a "vanilla ice cream waffle with Belgium waffle bits, slightly salted, and topped with maple-syrup espresso poured on top." (Watch Wendy Williams scarf it down
here.) And now a Chicago spot called Waffles Cafe is
offering the Wonut: a half-waffle, half-doughnut creation available in flavors such as red velvet, vanilla and chocolate, as well as more outré offerings such as green tea and Mexican chocolate. Try experimenting with your waffle iron at home with Food Network's
12 recipes for sweet and savory waffle mash-ups. [
Wendy Williams and
Foodbeast]

Speaking of Doughnuts ... A Redditor who goes by buckwheatwaffle, who says he works at a "hipster" doughnut shop in Chicago,
writes that he was "given the ability" to customize the wording of the receipts the shop hands out to customers following a purchase. He apparently had some fun with it, typing in
a quote from comedian Mitch Hedberg: "I bought a donut and they gave me a receipt for the donut. I don't need a receipt for the donut. I give you money and you give me the donut, end of transaction. We don't need to bring ink and paper into this. I can't imagine a scenario that I would have to prove that I bought a donut.” Alas, while buckwheatwaffle's boss apparently thought the quote was funny, his boss's boss insisted it be removed so as not to offend businesspeople. So buckwheatwaffle replaced it with a Matt Groening quote: "Donuts, is there anything they can't do?" The new quote, buckwheatwaffle gripes, is "NOT THE SAME." Listen to Mitch's full doughnut receipt riff
here. [
Reddit]

In Other Food News: Big soda fans, take a big gulp: New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration says it will continue his predecessor's push to ban the sale of sodas over 16 ounces. [
New York Daily News] Baltimore health officials are investigating why more than 100 people got sick at the Food Safety Summit held there earlier this month; they hope to suss out if the food was to blame. [
Associated Press] Taco Bell's beef is 88 percent beef, and for those who'd like to know what the other mysterious 12 percent is, the company now offers a
detailed explanation on its website, noting that while the ingredients "do have weird names," they're all "safe and approved by the FDA." [
TacoBell.com via
ABC News] New York Times dining reporter Julia Moskin
notes that Middle Eastern foods, ingredients and spices have moved far beyond street falafel and are now gaining a "secure foothold in fine dining." [
The New York Times] Hot-beverage-sipping patrons at Teavana on New York's Upper East Side were surprised Tuesday morning by the sudden appearance of Oprah Winfrey, who stopped by with Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz to check out the launch of her new namesake chai at the Starbucks-owned tea chain. [
People]